2 Irma S. Rombauer first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Joy of Cooking (privately printed first edition) (1931) to The Joy of Cooking (first trade edition) (1936) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Irma S. Rombauer title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.

Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Irma S. Rombauer copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

The Joy of Cooking (privately printed first edition) — 1931 · A. C. Clayton Printing Co.Self-published in an edition of roughly 3,000 copies. Printed by A. C. Clayton Printing Co. of St. Louis (a label printer that had never before printed a book), with no further printings noted. Cover and chapter-head silhouettes designed by the author's daughter Marion Rombauer, the cover depicting St. Martha of Bethany subduing a tarasque. This 1931 private printing is the genuine first edition and is exceedingly scarce. The 1936 Bobbs-Merrill 'First Trade Edition' is a distinct, far more common book often misdescribed as 'the' first; note precedence carefully. Any copy bearing the Bobbs-Merrill imprint is NOT the 1931 private first. Later Bobbs-Merrill printings add printing data and revised pagination.
The Joy of Cooking (first trade edition) — 1936 · The Bobbs-Merrill CompanyExpanded Bobbs-Merrill edition of roughly 628 pages; first printing of 10,000 copies, released May 1, 1936. The copyright page reads 'Copyright 1931, 1936' with NO printing line and no printing number — later printings ADD a notation (e.g. a '4th' or '5th Printing' line), so the ABSENCE of any printing statement is the primary first-printing tell. No 'First Edition' slug is used on this title. Bound in…. This is the first Bobbs-Merrill (trade) edition and the earliest widely available form, but it is subordinate in precedence to the true first: the 1931 privately printed edition (printed by A. C. Clayton Printing Co., St. Louis; about 3,000 copies; blue pebbled cloth, gilt-lettered; 395 pp; full title 'The Joy of Cooking: A Compilation of Reliable Recipes with a Casual Culinary Chat'). First state of the 1936 is…. Because this title bears no 'First Edition' statement, rely on the 'Copyright 1931, 1936' string plus the absence of a printing line; later Bobbs-Merrill printings ADD a printing notation and carry their own (often different) flap prices, so price alone is not decisive for later states. Beware the 1998 Scribner 'Joy of Cooking 1931 Facsimile Edition' (ISBN 9780684833583, ~448 pp, with an added foreword by Edgar….

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